Tronc Weighing Offer to Sell Newspaper Business: Report

By Reuters

Aug. 8, 2018

(Reuters) - Tronc Inc is weighing an offer to sell the Chicago Tribune and the rest of its newspaper holdings to a private equity firm, the Chicago Tribune reported on Wednesday.

An offer of between $19 and $20 per Tronc share is on the table, the report http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-tronc-newspapers-offer-20180808-story.html said, citing sources close to the company, adding that at least one other private equity bid for Tronc may be in the works.

At its mid-point, the offer represents a roughly 33 percent premium to the stock's Tuesday closing price.

A total offer for the entire company could be over $700 million, the Tribune reported. Tronc had a market value of about $521 million as of Tuesday, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Tronc declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Its shares jumped 13 percent to $16.69 on Wednesday afternoon.

The Chicago-headquartered company already sold its other newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this year to billionaire investor Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500 million.